


Ridicule Is Nothing To Be Scared Of

by roe87



Series: Steve/Bucky modern au's [12]
Category: Captain America (Comics), Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Awkward Flirting, College, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends, Fairy Tale Elements, Fairy Tale Retellings, First Meetings, Flirting, Fluff, Happy Ending, House Party, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Jock Steve Rogers, Light Angst, M/M, Nerd Bucky Barnes, Oblivious Steve Rogers, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Pre-Slash, Shy Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:28:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21824407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roe87/pseuds/roe87
Summary: Steve, jock and football star, has lost something very important and is in a state.Bucky, a hopeless nerd, offers to retrieve it for Steve and in exchange Steve must agree to let Bucky attend his frat party on Saturday.But will Steve honor their deal?(a modern retelling of The Frog Prince)
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Sharon Carter/Natasha Romanov
Series: Steve/Bucky modern au's [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1350943
Comments: 18
Kudos: 229





	Ridicule Is Nothing To Be Scared Of

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WitchyLurker](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WitchyLurker/gifts).



> a modern retelling of [the frog prince](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Frog_Prince) fairy tale, where Steve (the princess) has a bit of a Ransom Drysdale vibe, and Bucky (the frog) has a bit of a TJ Hammond vibe.  
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Title from the song Prince Charming, by Adam and the Ants
> 
> For Witchy! ❤
> 
> ~~

It was stupid, utterly stupid.

Stupid, but he'd done it. Hindsight was twenty-twenty. Steve had done it when he was mad, _so mad_ , at his professor and the dean. His professor had accused him of cheating on his essay and, okay, _maybe_ Steve had used Google way more than he should have, but that didn't warrant getting the dean involved.

Now the dean was threatening to kick Steve off the football team if he didn't get his grades up, and Steve just hated that guy sometimes.

So he wrote an anonymous letter in a fit of rage and posted it under Dean Barnes' office door.

That'd been last night, when Barnes had already left for the day. Steve had been pleased at first, imagining Barnes discovering the letter in the morning and how mad he'd be.

Then Steve had wondered, would it be obvious it was him who'd sent it?

And he'd been wide awake all night worrying about it, staring up at his ceiling as he pictured Dean Barnes throwing him out of college altogether.

Steve knew one thing: he had to get that letter back.

In the early morning, while it was still dark out, Steve searched around his bedroom for something long that would fit under the dean's door. He found a ruler, and that would have to do.

Steve left his frat house quietly, grabbed his bike and cycled as fast as he'd ever cycled back to college. It was still early when he got there, and Steve hoped he was in time.

The hallways were quiet, and Barnes' office door was closed and locked when Steve got there. Hopefully that meant he hadn't arrived yet.

Steve looked left and right, checking if the coast was clear. Then he got down on hands and knees to peer under the crack in the door. It was just light enough inside the office to make out the white folded paper on the floor.

It was right there, Steve just had to snag it back, and forget this whole episode had ever happened. He should be busy planning for their frat party this Saturday, dammit, not crouching on the floor like an idiot trying to get a stupid letter.

Steve got out the long ruler and stuck it under the door. He had to get his face right on the ground, squinting one eye to see. This would work, he told himself, as he fed the ruler under the door. He'd get the letter back and destroy it, this would all be over.

Except it became apparent the more Steve tried to reach the letter that the ruler wasn't long enough.

How in the hell had the letter gone that far in?

Steve growled under his breath and tried again, stretching his fingers to squeeze in under the door. He lost his grip on the ruler and couldn't grab it back. He swore, quite a few times, and got up onto his knees to check what was in his bag.

He needed something long.

Steve ended up ripping a few pages from his notebook, folding the pages down to fashion a long poking device. He got onto his knees again, and poked it underneath the door.

If only he'd brought along a stapler or paperclip, or something, because the paper poker didn't work either. It sort of fell apart as Steve got it under the door. So now Steve had shoved not only the letter and his ruler under the door, but also some strips of paper.

This was hopeless. Unless he went off and got something very flat and long, and Steve's brain wasn't helping provide any examples, he was never going to get that letter back.

Steve got up off the floor and picked up his bag. There was a bench just to the side, against the wall. It was for people waiting to see the dean to sit on, and Steve sat on it now as he gazed out the window at campus.

A couple students walked across the quad. Steve checked his watch and knew it would soon be teaming with students.

What else could he do but sit here and wait for the dean? Maybe dive into the office first and... eat the letter.

His mother, Sarah, had often said he was too impulsive sometimes. Steve wished she were still here so he could talk to her, call her and ask for advice. She always made him feel better, even when he felt hopeless.

Steve's eyes stung with tears and he very rarely cried, not since coming to college, but apparently he was going to cry now.

Everything just felt too overwhelming, and here he was about to screw up his one chance at college and his mom would've been so disappointed in him.

Steve was so busy crying that he didn't notice someone approach until they were right there by the office door. Steve looked up in surprise, expecting to see Dean Barnes, but it was a student.

Steve didn't know who the student was, but he'd seen him around before. Nerdy type, big glasses that made his eyes appear huge and bug eyed. He was looking at Steve curiously.

"Are you okay?" he asked, as Steve wiped his eyes on his sleeve and tried to pretend he was fine.

"Yeah," he mumbled, looking the kid up and down. It was then Steve noticed the set of keys he was holding, as if he'd been about to put a key in the door.

Steve's eyes went wide and he looked at the kid more closely. "Wait, can you get in the office?"

"Um, yeah," he replied. "Dad's just... I mean, Dean Barnes is just in a meeting."

"He's your dad?" Steve got to his feet. His prayers had clearly been answered, and he approached the other kid. "Look," he implored, "I know this sounds crazy, but I, uh, I dropped my bag and some of my stuff slid in under the door here. I need to get it back."

The other kid stared back at Steve, having to look up at him a little because he was shorter. He had messy brown hair, those big glasses, and a few freckles over his nose and cheeks.

"Your stuff slid under the door?" he said dubiously.

Steve tried his best to look earnest. "Yeah, right under the door. Some paper and um, my ruler."

"Hm," said the other kid, taking a step back from Steve and giving him an assessing look. "You're Steve, right? On the football team?"

Steve nodded. "That's right. Steve Rogers."

"I watched your game last week," the kid said. "You're the star quarterback."

"I guess?" Steve forced himself to smile, though he was anxious to get his letter. "I don't know your name."

"It's Bucky," he replied, his cheeks flushing instantly. "Well, it's James, but call me Bucky."

Steve smiled again, feeling a bit more in control of the situation now. "Hi, Bucky," he said, turning on the charm. "Maybe next time you wanna come to a game, I can save you a seat?"

Bucky's eyes blinked, looking huge behind his glasses. "Yeah? You'd do that?"

"Yeah, sure," Steve said easily. "Happy to do you a favor."

Bucky's cheeks stained a darker pink, and Steve figured he was onto a win.

"So, hey," he said softly, leaning into Bucky, "would you do me a favor? Fetch my ruler and paper for me? I gotta get to class."

"Oh, sure," Bucky said, a little flustered. He fumbled with his key. "Lemme just..."

Thank God, Steve thought, relieved. He was going to be alright.

He hovered close as Bucky put the key in the door, but then Bucky paused and looked back at Steve.

"Uh, you better wait on the bench," he said. "I'm not allowed to let anyone else in here."

Damn, Steve thought, but he made himself smile amiably. "Yeah, sure. I'll be just here." He retreated to the bench, watching as Bucky let himself into the office and shut the door behind him.

Really, Steve could've just knocked him down and grabbed the letter, made a run for it. But he knew who Steve was now, so that wasn't really an option.

Steve sat heavily on the bench, his anxiety returning.

Bucky was in there for longer than Steve had expected, and when the door finally opened again Steve got to his feet. He watched Bucky lock the door, and couldn't see any letter in Bucky's hands.

Steve's heart started pounding, and he swallowed. "Did... did you find it?" he asked.

Bucky adjusted the backpack on his shoulder as he approached Steve. He seemed a little different now, and gave Steve a guarded look.

"Yeah, I found it."

Steve swallowed again. "Can I have it? Please?"

"What's in it for me?" Bucky countered.

"Excuse me?" Steve said, though he had a sinking feeling about this.

"I read the letter," Bucky said, giving Steve a flat look. "Real colorful language about my father there, Steve."

Now it was Steve whose face flushed. "Look," he said, voice hitching slightly, "I was upset, okay? I didn't mean it, I wanna take it all back."

"Yeah, I got that," Bucky said.

"Please don't show it to him," Steve pleaded. "I don't want to get kicked out of college, I don't know what I'll do."

"I'm not going to show him," Bucky replied calmly. "But what's in it for me?"

"What?" Steve said. "I don't understand."

"If I do this favor for you," Bucky started, "I think it's only fair you do a favor for me in return."

"I said I'll save you a seat?" Steve reminded him.

"I think this calls for more than a seat on the bleachers." Bucky took a step closer to Steve, looking up at him defiantly. "You guys are having a party this weekend, right?"

"Yeah?" Steve wanted to roll his eyes but didn't. "That's what you want? To come to the party? Fine, come to the party."

Bucky shook his head. "That's too easy. I come to your party, and I want you to welcome me in as your guest. I want you to actually hang out with me too."

Steve was at a loss with this, but it seemed a small price to pay for not getting kicked out of college.

Besides, he figured it'd be easy enough to lose a nerd at a busy party.

"Okay," he agreed. "Deal."

Bucky looked up at him with his big eyes. "You promise?"

"Yes, yes, I promise," Steve said, offhand. "You can come to the party, I'll hang out with you. All cool."

"Deal," Bucky said, and reached in his pocket. He pulled out the folded letter and offered it to Steve.

Steve took the paper and checked it quickly. Yep, that was his letter. He stuffed it inside his pocket and had plans to go flush it down the nearest toilet.

"Thanks," he mumbled, and turned to grab his bag and go.

"Wait, don't you want to switch numbers?" Bucky asked. "I don't know your address."

Steve sighed in frustration and opened up his bag. He scribbled his address down on a notepad and tore off the paper. "Here," he said, passing it over to Bucky. "See you Saturday."

"Remember our deal!" Bucky called after him. "You promised."

"Yeah, yeah," Steve muttered as he hurried away.

~~

Saturday came and Bucky was very excited.

He'd never been to a party before, not since middle school anyway, and certainly not a college party with the cool kids.

He wasn't all that sure what to wear, but he didn't have much choice from his limited clothes so his usual jeans, a t-shirt and a shirt on top would have to do. 

Anyway, it didn't matter what he looked like, he told himself. Steve was going to hang out with him. Steve Rogers, the all star quarterback was going to hang out with Bucky at the party.

He could hardly believe it.

Bucky took the bus into town and got a connecting bus, tracking his location on his phone so he got off at the right stop.

Bucky had never lived with other students, not in a house or on campus: because his dad drove in every day to the same college, Bucky had stayed living at home and got a ride with him.

Sometimes Bucky wished he'd lived on campus, made more friends or something. The other kids seemed to enjoy college, but Bucky didn't find the socialising part easy.

He got off at the stop and walked down the street in the early evening twilight. It wasn't hard to spot the frat house, there was already kids hanging out on the porch and the front lawn with music thumping.

Bucky's pulse quickened, excited to be going into his first proper party. He put his phone away and stepped onto the lawn, avoiding some kids who were rough-housing there. Bucky approached the porch and tried not to feel intimidated by the kids there looking down at him.

He stepped onto the first step and someone spoke up. "Hey," a guy taunted, "isn't that lil' frog face from high school?"

"No way!" his companion joined in, as Bucky's heart sank. "Frog man! It's been a while."

Bucky wasn't even sure who they were, didn't want to look up and see their cruel smiles. He set his jaw and kept walking, intending to walk straight past them.

"Whoa, where you going?" the first one said, blocking Bucky's path with his bulk.

Rumlow, that was his name, Bucky remembered.

"I'm going inside," Bucky replied, hoping he didn't sound as scared as he felt.

"Oh, is that so?" Rumlow taunted, as his buddies around him laughed.

"Yes," Bucky bit out. "Steve invited me."

This made Rumlow and his buddies laugh more. "Rogers invited a nerd!" one of the guys guffawed, like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard.

"Steve ain't here," Rumlow said.

Bucky's heart sank. "Where is he?"

Rumlow shrugged, and he didn't seem like he was about to get aggressive, not like back in high school. He seemed pretty chilled out, actually.

Then, Bucky caught a waft of something spicy and saw one of Rumlow's buddies passing a joint around.

So, they were stoned. Maybe that was a good thing.

"Don't worry, I'll find him," Bucky said, and slipped past Rumlow through the door. Their laughter was the only reply, and Bucky tried to put it behind him as he entered the frat house.

This was, like, all of his teenage party dreams come true: loud music, kids dancing around and drinking from red paper cups. This was amazing.

Bucky edged his way through the people, keeping a look out for Steve's blond head and broad set of shoulders among them. He had to be here somewhere, this was where he lived.

Bucky got through the main room and down the hall, also crammed with kids drinking, laughing and joking around. Bucky slipped past them and found himself in the kitchen, which seemed to be a popular hang out spot judging by all the cool kids he recognised. He didn't see Steve, though.

The back door was open and noises filtered in from outside, so maybe Steve was in the garden. Bucky steeled himself and headed for the door. He was accosted before he could reach it by Natasha Romanov and Sharon Carter, two of the most popular girls on the basketball team.

"Do we know you?" Natasha asked, seemingly curious.

"He's the dean's son," Sharon said. "James, right?"

"Bucky," he replied. "Um, Steve invited me."

This made Sharon and Natasha exchange a look like they found this amusing. Bucky felt like an ant under their gaze when they turned back to him, Natasha especially as she leaned in to inspect him.

"I didn't know you guys were friends," Natasha said.

"Neither did I," Bucky said, feeling his face start to blush. This wasn't how he'd envisioned a party would go. "Is he here?"

"He's out on a beer run with Clint," Natasha replied.

"They'll be back soon," Sharon offered, smiling at him. She seemed nice. "Wanna play beer pong with us?" she asked.

Bucky blinked in surprise. "What's that?"

~~

When Steve came back from his beer run with Clint (because Clint was twenty-one and could actually buy alcohol) they headed straight into the kitchen to unload the bags.

Steve honestly hadn't expected that Bucky kid to show up, so he was pretty surprised to spot him through the open plan section, playing beer pong with Nat and Sharon.

Oh, well. It wasn't a problem, Steve figured. Everyone wanted to come to parties and talk to girls. Poor nerd probably didn't realise Nat and Sharon were in a relationship together though.

Clint wanted to mix up the cheap vodka they'd gotten, so Steve helped him with making the punch. Steve enjoyed playing host.

Clint poured out the punch into a huge bowl, and Steve carried it on through to the lounge where the party was happening.

They'd made Jell-O shots last night, and Clint was busy getting them out the refrigerator when Steve got back.

"These are gonna taste awesome," Clint said, passing a shot to Steve. He wasn't drinking, because he was on car driving duty.

Steve knocked back the Jell-O shot and grimaced because it was strong. "Holy shit," he coughed.

"I know, right," Clint replied, stacking the shot cups onto trays. "Let's go take these round."

"Yeah," Steve said, about to help. Then someone was at his side and he was surprised to see it was Bucky. "Oh. Hey."

"Hey." Bucky grinned up at him, eyes massive behind those thick, bug eyed glasses.

There was a slightly awkward moment where Bucky appeared to be waiting on Steve, but Steve didn't want to hang out right then.

Clint paused to look between the two of them, and Steve felt embarrassed. "Uh, I'm just in the middle of something," he told Bucky and offered him a Jell-O shot. "Take this and, you know, go have fun."

Bucky held the shot cup in his hand, like he hadn't ever seen one before. He looked up at Steve with a hurt expression. "We're supposed to hang out," he said quietly.

"Yeah, later," Steve said easily. "It's still early, man! Lighten up." Then he picked up the stack of shots and nudged Clint. "Let's go be good hosts!"

He left Bucky in the kitchen and didn't look back.

~~

Bucky saw Steve a few times, always coming or going from room to room.

He tried to get Steve's attention each time, kept thinking to himself, this time, this time they'd hang out.

But though Steve was amiable he didn't seem to want to hang out with Bucky. He made excuses, he'd hand Bucky a drink and then disappear again.

After a while Bucky got the message, and he couldn't help feel disappointed. Why did nobody want to be his friend? Why had Steve broken his promise?

Bucky wanted to leave, but Rumlow and his buddies were still outside the front door and Bucky didn't want to walk past them. He wandered back round to the kitchen, wondering if he could get out the back way somehow.

Natasha and Sharon were over in the corner of the room, and Sharon waved him over.

Bucky didn't have anywhere else to go, so he went over to join them.

"You've been walking around a lot," Natasha commented. She had a very piercing gaze, and Bucky avoided looking her in the eye.

He shrugged, looked down at the table where they were cutting up pizza slices to eat.

"Hungry?" Sharon asked.

Bucky shook his head. He felt a little woozy from the drinks he'd had. He didn't normally drink anything.

"You okay?" Sharon asked gently, leaning in to look at him.

Bucky couldn't help it, maybe it was the alcohol, maybe all the emotions, but he just started crying. He thought the girls would make fun of him, but instead they hustled him out the kitchen and up the staircase, shielding him from anyone who'd see.

Bucky found himself in a very messy bedroom, sat down on a bed with Sharon handing him tissues and Natasha pouring out a glass of some liqueur. 

"Where are we?" Bucky sniffed.

"Clint's room," Natasha told him, offering him the drink. "I have a key."

"They used to date in high school," Sharon said, by way of explanation.

Natasha rolled her eyes fondly, and pushed the cup under Bucky's nose. "Try this. It's good."

Bucky took a sip. It tasted very strong but sweet, and made his mouth tingle.

"Now tell us what's wrong," Natasha pressed.

"Why are you being so nice?" Bucky asked, confused.

Natasha and Sharon shared a look, then Sharon replied, "Well, sometimes it's nice to have friends when you need them most. Do you want to talk about it?"

Bucky cried again. "He said we'd hang out," he blubbed, and blew his nose on the tissue. "He _promised_."

"Who?" Natasha asked. "Steve?"

Bucky nodded.

"He's a bit shy," Sharon said, sounding gentle again. "Especially around boys."

"They dated back in high school," Natasha explained, while Sharon huffed a laugh.

"Are you guys friends?" Sharon asked him.

Bucky shook his head. "I did a favor for him, and he promised we'd hang out tonight."

"What do you mean, a favor?" Natasha asked. "Why don't you start at the beginning."

So Bucky told them, about finding Steve crying outside his dad's office at college, to the letter he retrieved and returned to Steve with the promise that Bucky would come to the party tonight and Steve would hang out with him.

Natasha and Sharon exchanged a look. Natasha was frowning like she wasn't pleased.

"Steve should at least hang out with you for a bit if he promised," she said decidedly. "We can find him later but first, why don't we do something fun? Hm?"

"Like what?" Bucky snorted into his soggy tissue.

"I know!" Natasha's eyes lit up. " _Makeover_."

"Ooh, yes, a makeover!" Sharon exclaimed.

Bucky didn't really want a makeover, but it seemed a better prospect than being alone at a party where he didn't know anyone. Reluctantly, he agreed.

"We're lucky Clint has the en suite, we can use the bathroom," Natasha said, and went to pluck Bucky's glasses from his face.

"I can't see without my glasses," he protested, but Natasha shushed him.

"You'll get them back later," she promised. "Trust us. We know what we're doing."

"It'll be fun," Sharon told him, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly.

"Uh," Bucky said, as the glasses were removed from his face and everything went blurry. "Alright."

~~

"Where's your little friend?" Clint asked, as they sat on the back porch.

T'Challa and Nakia were having an impromptu kick boxing match on the lawn. Nakia appeared to be winning.

Steve sipped his beer. "Who?" he said, pretending not to know.

"That kid with the massive glasses," Clint chuckled.

"I dunno," Steve muttered, then glanced around like he expected Bucky to appear any second. He'd been avoiding him all night, and Steve was starting to feel kind of bad.

"Well, if he needs a ride home later, let me know," Clint offered. "I'm gonna go cheer Nakia and laugh at T'Challa." He clapped Steve on the shoulder before walking down the steps onto the lawn.

Clint was a good housemate. Steve's other housemates were a bit annoying at times, but overall it was good living here. Steve was just so relieved he could stay, and that'd all been thanks to Bucky getting that letter back before Dean Barnes had read it.

Steve suppressed a sigh and decided he'd go find Bucky. They could hang out now, then Steve would've held up his end of the deal.

He went inside the house and began looking around. The place was busy but there wasn't as much dancing going on now, it was mainly people hanging out so getting past them took forever.

Steve said hi to people along the way, and circled through the house once. He hadn't seen Bucky, unless he was in the bathroom. Steve thought about heading into the kitchen next, so he went down the hall and happened to look up when some people came down the staircase.

"Hey," he said, spotting Nat and Sharon.

"Hey, yourself," Nat replied, both the ladies grinning as they parted. Bucky was standing between them as they came down the stairs.

He looked _totally_ different, and Steve stilled in surprise. The huge glasses were gone for a start, so his eyes looked a regular size. He'd done something to his hair, pushed it off his face and styled it better. It suited him too.

Bucky had lost the baggy plaid shirt he'd been wearing, now in just a t-shirt. He looked less like a dork, more like a cute college guy, and Steve couldn't believe it. He watched the three of them walk down the stairs slowly.

"Oh, hi," Sharon said absently as she led Bucky by the hand. They walked past Steve into the kitchen, Natasha following behind and throwing a smile over her shoulder before they disappeared.

Steve was left gaping after them in surprise. Hadn't Bucky seen him? What had happened to wanting to hang out?

Steve followed after them, found the three of them around the small table setting up a game of beer pong.

"Hi, Steve," Nat said, looking smug. "Wanna play?"

Bucky looked up as Steve approached, and Steve tried to see if he was wearing contacts but he couldn't tell. Bucky's eyes were a very light blue, and he smiled at Steve.

"Hey."

"Hey," Steve replied, feeling nervous suddenly. "Um... I'm free now, if you wanna hang out?"

"Yeah?" Bucky replied, his smile growing. "Okay!"

"You, uh, wanna go out on the back porch?" Steve suggested.

Bucky nodded. "I can't see much, but sure."

"Where are your glasses?" Steve asked.

"Being held hostage," Bucky snickered. "It's fine, just show me where to walk."

"Alright," Steve said. "It's this way."

Bucky followed after him, holding a hand out to feel for the door as they walked through it. Steve reached out and took his hand, guiding him through safely. Bucky startled at first, then relaxed and smiled happily. He held on tight to Steve's hand.

"This way," Steve said, leading him outside.

"Oh, my God," Sharon whispered into her girlfriend's ear, " _finally_. They're talking."

Natasha hugged her in triumph.

"Where'd you put his glasses?" she asked, as Nat grinned wickedly.

"Well," Nat said, "I may or may not tell him later that I lost his glasses, and we'll just have to go shopping tomorrow for a replacement pair instead. Or contact lenses."

Sharon shook her head fondly. "I suppose you didn't mention your family runs the optometrist so you get a discount?"

Nat put a finger to her lips. "Shh, don't tell."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this modern fairy tale!
> 
> You can find me on [tumblr](http://jro616.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/jro616).


End file.
